


Life Offscreen

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: We Write Our Own Story (a.k.a. Team Free Will 3.0, Expanded Edition) [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: A little emotional hurt/comfort, But mostly fluff, Everyone but Jody/Donna are established relationships, F/F, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, M/M, With one last dig at the finale, With romance mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: Dean, Cas, Sam and Eileen head to Jody’s for dinner.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Donna Hanscum/Jody Mills, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Jody Mills & Dean Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak
Series: We Write Our Own Story (a.k.a. Team Free Will 3.0, Expanded Edition) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2025290
Comments: 1
Kudos: 85





	Life Offscreen

Dean insisted on bringing pie to Jody's, even though Sam argued that 1) it wasn't Thanksgiving and 2) they didn't even know if all the girls liked pie. Dean countered with 1) every day was pie day and 2) who didn't like pie? The compromise ended up being that they got several different pies, with the finalists decided after a long, intense discussion between the four of them in the grocery store’s bakery department.

They ended up putting the pies in Baby's trunk, right on top of all the hunting gear. Dean was pretty sure that was a metaphor for something big, but he was smart enough not to mention that to Sammy.

They bickered good-naturedly all the way there, with Cas turning around in his seat to talk and Sam signing everything Dean said so Eileen wouldn't miss it. Eileen kept most of her answers verbal, especially the ones that either defended (or harassed) Dean, but Sam snickered often enough that Dean was pretty sure there was some extra commentary going on in the back. From the amused look on Cas's face – apparently the "all languages" thing extended to sign – at least some of it was pretty funny. From the dopey look Sam got at other moments, some of it was also clearly pretty sappy.

When they pulled up to Jody's place, he surprised himself by not wanting to get out of the car. "You guys go on ahead," he said, all fake easiness. "I'll get the pies. Make sure they're handled with the respect and love they deserve."

No one got out of the car. "You know Jody's not going to care, right?" Sam said after a few seconds, the gentleness of his tone not enough to escape the fact that Dean had become incredibly transparent at some point. "She knows Claire has feelings for Kaia and she's okay with it. It'll be the same for you."

"She probably already knows," Eileen added. "I figured it out the first time I saw the two of you together. She's known you for longer."

Cas, on the other hand, was giving him the same worried look he'd had to give him far too often over the years. "We can pretend we are not romantically involved, if that would make things easier."

The idea of doing that to Cas was more of a kick in the ass than any kind of comfort would have been. "Not a chance," he sighed, leaning over to give Cas a long, slow kiss. "You know, you can just _tell_ me when I'm being a dumbass."

"You're being a dumbass," Sam and Eileen both chorused from the backseat, before getting out of the car. Cas just deepened the kiss and blanked out the rest of the world for the moment.

When they broke apart, Cas's expression only held love in it. "I understand worrying about what the authority figures in your life think of you."

Dean's chest squeezed tight as he lifted a hand to stroke his thumb along Cas's cheek. "You're a hell of a lot more important."

Cas smiled back, soft and sweet. "So are you."

Dean was about to lean back in when a knock on the driver's side window made them both turn. Jody was giving them both an amused look, a warmly maternal edge to the expression that made Dean's throat tighten a little bit. "You know his curfew's at 10, right?"

She stepped back so Dean could get out of the car and give her a proper hug. "I didn't even have a curfew when I _was_ 10," he said warmly, squeezing tight.

She laughed. "I was talking about Cas."

He smiled from the other side of the car. "Hello, Jody. It is good to see you again."

"It is _very_ good to see you again, but you're not going to be able to get away with that anymore." She headed around the car towards him, waving him closer at the same time. "Family hugs. Now that you two are official, you might as well start practicing."

The surprised, pleased look on Cas's face made something inside Dean go soft and melty, which was of course the exact moment when the front door to Jody's house slammed back open. Claire stepped onto the porch, hands on her hips and giving Dean her best "I'm vaguely fond of you and will show it through harassment" look. "Sam says you're holding up the rest of the pie."

She looked good. Happy. A big part of that was because of Jody, and another big part of that was the girl who stepped out onto the porch after her. Kaia gave him a little wave, her smile just radiating happiness, and when she kissed Claire’s cheek it made something in Dean’s chest tighten to watch Claire just _melt_.

But he wasn’t about to actually tell her that. It wasn’t how they worked. “Hey, you have two arms.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but he couldn’t help but notice that she hooked her fingers through Kaia’s as they headed down the stairs together. Cas watched her even more intently than Dean did, happiness and guilt warring in his expression for a moment before settling into something that looked like peace, and when he noticed Dean was watching him he met his eyes with a soft smile. Jody was watching all four of them with a pleased expression that radiated “Mom” so hard it was practically written in the sky above her head.

When they got close enough, Kaia let go of Claire long enough to run over and give Dean a quick hug. Over her shoulder, Dean could see Claire give Cas a fond look that didn’t have nearly the bittersweet edge it used to. “Nice tie.”

“Thank you.” Cas smoothed a hand down the tie, which had dancing cheeseburgers on it. It had become part of the official “Holy Tax Accountant” uniform ever since Dean had bought it for him from a gas station a few days ago. “I apologize that we haven’t brought in the rest of the pie.”

She waved him off as she went around to the trunk, eyes widening when she saw the rest of the pies. “You do know we actually have real food to eat, right? True, Alex made most of it…”

“Hey,” Jody countered. “She’s getting better.”

Kaia went around to look at the rest of the pies, looking far more appreciative of the haul than Claire had. “Ooooh.” She peered at the different labels. “I haven’t had most of these.”

Claire’s expression melted again. “Then I’ll have to make sure you try all of them,” she said softly, giving Kaia a gentle kiss before picking up all the rest of the pie at once. Kaia gave her an affectionate look, took two of the pies, and waved at them both again as she followed her into the house.

Dean grinned over at Cas, waggling his eyebrows. “We’re clearly gonna have to up our PDA game.”

At that, Cas shot him the look that said “Dean” in that particular tone without needing to actually say it. Dean’s grin only widened – it was a fun look, when you didn’t have to worry about the end of the world – and Jody’s look slid more from “Mom” to “older sister.” She opened her mouth, clearly ready to raz him, when the door opened again and Donna stepped out on the porch. Her eyes went right to Cas. “You’re Castiel, right?” At his nod, her entire face let up and she headed down the stairs. “I have wanted to meet you for just _ages_. Dean and Sam both talk so much about you that I am just pleased as punch to meet you in person.”

He saw Jody push Cas in Donna’s direction a little, who had the soft, faintly surprised look he sometimes got when people were happy to see him. “Hello, Donna.” He held out a hand to shake hers, and Dean’s smile widened because he knew what was going to happen. “I have heard a great deal about you as—”

The rest of the sentence cut off when Donna swept him up in a hug, lifting him off the ground a little. Cas seemed a little overwhelmed, but in a good way, and when she pulled back she beamed at him again. “Now, that is just the _best_ tie. Do you like hamburgers? Because there’s this diner you have got to make the boys take you to just off the interstate that has the best breakfast burger you have ever eaten. They put a fried egg right on the top…”

She kept the conversation up as she ushered Cas inside, looking back to give him a sunny wave over her shoulder before turning back to listen intently to Cas explaining his complicated relationship with eggs (some _diner_ eggs were really bad). Dean’s smile went soft at the explanation – he was now fully free to admit that he found Cas’s nerd angel-ness adorable – and he rocked back on his heels and let himself just listen. It wasn’t so bad to watch Cas walk away when he knew he was gonna follow in a second.

He caught sight of Jody out of the corner of his eye, who was watching Donna and Cas with a soft expression that matched the warm, gooey feeling in his chest. There was something like wistfulness in her eyes, though, which almost felt _more_ familiar, and that was interesting enough that he shifted his attention to her completely. When she realized he was looking at her, she shifted her attention in a slightly-too-deliberate gesture as if trying to pretend she hadn’t been staring at all.

Oh. Well, that explained a hell of a lot.

He waited until the front door had closed again before walking over to her. “Donna, huh?” he said softly.

She hesitated a moment, like she wanted to argue, then sighed. “How’d you do it?”

“If you’re looking for the mechanics, I think Claire would have the more relevant information here,” he joked, because Dean’s brain always tried for the joke before serious discussions about feelings. it was reflex at this point.

She made an exasperated noise, shoving his arm. “Do not even make me _think_ about getting sex advice from my daughter.” Then she sobered again, giving him a searching look that made him have to brace himself a little. “I’m serious, though. How do you make yourself take another risk after you’ve lost so much?”

Her voice had gotten a little unsteady on the last few words, and for a heavy second they both let themselves feel Bobby’s death and the knowledge of all their other losses between them. Then he swallowed, shrugging a little. “Cas took most the risk, really.” He blew out a breath. “Of course, he died on me right after. I think he thought he’d be able to avoid the awkward conversation after.”

Her lips curved a little. “And you didn’t let him? That’s even braver of you than I thought.”

The comment eased some of the weight inside him. “The thing is, not saying anything doesn’t stop you from losing. The world’s gonna be a hell of a lot better with Jack in charge, but there are still monsters out there. Cas and I just took care of these vampire mime assholes a few days ago while Sam and Eileen were taking care of a tulpa. Real bastards, too.” He gave Jody a serious look. “You get a call one day that something happened to Donna? Or it happens in front of you? Your heart gets ripped out of your chest whether you say anything or not. The entire damn novel worth of regrets that’ll be circling around your head only makes things worse.”

She sighed again. “Is it kind of bad I wish you were telling me about some monster you needed help with instead?’

Dean’s lips curved, holding an arm out to her. “Hell, you’re raising four teenage girls. You’re brave enough to handle a few measly old feelings.”

Jody smiled, sliding an arm through his. “Oh, I think you could probably handle a teenager or two. There’re probably a few more lost souls out there who could use a good home, and I’ve run out of bedrooms.”

Dean’s chest tightened at the thought. “I don’t think having me as a dad would count as a ‘good home.’” 

She squeezed his arm. “I’m pretty sure Sam would disagree with that.”

Dean cleared his throat, trying to pretend his eyes weren’t stinging as they started heading toward the house. “You just want a fellow mom to bitch with when the kids drive you crazy.”

She laughed. “I absolutely do.” She shook her head a little. “Seriously, though. Vampire mimes?”

He shrugged. “Not nearly as cool as the name I gave them. I’m pretty sure they were wearing leftover Halloween masks, and their leader was some chick who was really mad I didn’t know her. Apparently Sam and I ran into her like, 15 years ago?”

Jody raised an eyebrow. “You two didn’t date, did you?”

Dean lifted a hand helplessly. “Even now, I honestly don’t remember.” His lips curved. “She _really_ managed to annoy Cas, though. It was not a good move for her.”

Jody was laughing as they headed into the house.

000

Later, Claire was the one who snapped a picture of Jody and Donna kissing in the middle of doing dishes. Kindly, she made sure to send it to Dean.

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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